Kamen Rider Zero
by DiscontentCat
Summary: With Gaia Memories being spread about in the black market, the team Amnesia is forced to put a stop to it. However, when the Dopants become too much for even them to handle, a new hero must fight for them. Will Day Zero be relived, or will the Dopants finally be stopped? (Contains fantasy violence, cursing, and furry/anthropomorphic characters)
1. Prologue

Kamen Rider Zero

Prologue

A loud siren echoed throughout the city, causing the many citizens around the area to quickly flee into nearby buildings, doing this as easily as though the action had been practiced for years. Once everyone was inside, the buildings were locked up, and the windows were shut. The only sound that was heard was the wailing siren coming from the city's speakers. For a moment, it almost seemed that the city was a ghost town. Nothing moved, nothing shifted, and not a living creature was in sight.

But then, in the distance, something moved.

_A young, properly dressed female lab-morph sits at the front desk, her paws clasped neatly in front of her as the camera focuses on her. After she is given the go, she begins her report. _

_ "Good afternoon everyone," she begins, "I am Brenda Illwood, and today we will be taking a look into what was and what is Jinsoku City." The camera cuts to stock footage of a modern city, with some of its buildings either greatly damaged, or completely leveled. There is heavy evidence of a war that has possibly occurred here. The other buildings however appear in good shape, and show little to no signs of damage. "Much has happened since that day. That fateful day that has gone down in infamy as…Day Zero…" _

The thing moved closer to the buildings, and was now clearer to see, if there were any eyes to gaze upon it anyways. What would be seen, though, would be a bizarre sight to behold. It looked like a person, but at the same time not. It stood on two feet, had two arms, and had a head. That was where the similarities ended. It wore no clothes, and it had no face. Its skin was a pale shade of blue aside from one of its legs and arms, both of which were a disgusting fleshy red and appearing as though the skin was ripped off to reveal all of the fibers and muscles underneath. Nails and metal bars stuck out of its torso as though they had been hammered into it. Its left hand was replaced with what appeared to be a wrecking ball, and its head was covered in some sort of hard metal. One hole was left for one of its eyes, and a slit at the bottom allowed for its mouth to open, revealing its under-jawed teeth. It was big, it was muscular, and looked like everything that _wasn't_ friendly.

"_On that day, a group of Dopant terrorists attacked our city, and much destruction took place." The camera clipped to footage of that day. Many buildings were on fire, and strange looking creatures ran about the streets, destroying anything and everything in their path. "Much destruction took place, and many lives were lost. Our citizens were rendered helpless from this attack. Officers fought valiantly against the oppressors, but ultimately could not prevail." The footage clipped to officers trying to fight back, but having little to no success. "We thought we were done for; we thought it was all over. We needed help desperately, but we didn't know from whom. Just when we began to lose hope, it came." _

"DOPANT CONFIRMED. MEMORY IDENTIFIED AS: VIOLENCE," someone spoke through the intercom of a helicopter flying overhead. Boarded inside of it was a team of five or six troops, each of their eyes glued to the screen nearby them which displayed the Dopant from bird's eye view. The monster swung its wrecking ball arm around, smashing it into the concrete ground and walls, leaving large crevices and cracks in its wake.

Compartments nearby each of the troops opened up, revealing to them two strange devices. One of which was oddly shaped and unidentifiable, the only thing it vaguely resembled being a belt buckle of some kind. It was primarily red, with hints of silver along the ends and the sides; with the red portion shaped almost like an 'L.' It was attached to a black base, which had many different wires and crevices poking out, and a slot at the top portion of the 'L.' Looking at it again, it could almost be mistaken for a bizarre looking bomb. The other object at least resembled something. While being too big, it did resemble a computer USB. At the front were three things; a button near the bottom, and the word "Blank" printed along the side. At the center was a large "B," but that was all there was to it. The troops snatched up the 'L' shaped device and slapped it onto their midsections, causing a silver belt to snake out from it and anchor the device to their waists.

"PERFORM A MEMORY CHECK," the same voice commanded over the intercom. The troops complied, picking the USB devices out of the compartments and clicking the button at the front.

READY

"MEMORIES CONFIRMED FOR GO. INITIATE TRANSFORMATION." Once again, the troops complied, slotting the Memories into the appropriate slot of their new belts and causing a light to escape the bottom portion of the belt. It pulsed gently as a charging sound escaped the Memory. Keeping their hands on the belt, they clicked the top of the 'L' to a slanted position, prompting a confirming sound from the Memory.

ON

Their bodies glowed briefly, before fading away to reveal that their bodies had completely changed. They were now covered from head to toe in black tactical gear. Their heads were covered in helmets with a circular visor allowing vision. Their arms and legs were protected with shin guards and arm guards. And around their chests they wore tactical vests strapped with various gear.

Another compartment opened up, revealing a set of strange looking magnums, their color matching that of their new suits. They grabbed them up before strapping them to their belts.

"READY TO INTERCEPT DOPANT, DESCENDING NOW." The copter slowly began to near the ground, and the doors at the back opened up.

"Go! Go! Go!" the troop in front exclaimed as he jumped out of the aircraft, landing from a height that would have otherwise horribly injured him if not for this new form. The other troops quickly followed, dropping near their leader. The Dopant turned to look, letting out a savage cry as it saw them.

"_That day, a group of rogue warriors dubbed 'The Anti-Dopants,' using technology that used the powers of Gaia Memories against Dopants, came forth out of their hiding spots to intercept them, and finally push them back." The footage clipped to images of black armored troopers taking formation and barraging the monsters with bullets from their specialized guns. "The terrorists were defeated, and were finally taken into custody." The footage clipped again, this time to images of the same troopers taking what used to be the monsters into the backs of their vehicles. "We were finally left in peace, but recovery was desperately needed. And it wouldn't come quickly, as we had not seen the last of these 'Dopants.' More began to show up within our streets as Gaia Memories were distributed around in the black market. More fighting persisted, and more lives were lost. It was then that the government finally decided to take action. With the support of several other countries, more Anti-Dopants were put into training, and Jinsoku City was finally given their own team. With their counter attacks on these Memory Criminals, this team was appropriately named…Amnesia." _

The Dopant charged towards the team in blind rage, swinging its wrecking ball arm around in an attempt to bash their skulls inwards. The troops immediately backed away, firing their magnums at the beast and pelting it down. It roared in anger and tried to swipe at them, trying to make them stop. The troops did not cease in their attack, and continued to barrage the beast with bullets.

"ARMOR IS WEAKENED. PROCEED TO MAXIMUM DRIVE." The troops followed orders, all of them pulling their Memories out of their Drivers at once, granting the Dopant a single moment's rest. They each plugged in their Memories into their guns, prompting a confirming sound from the device.

MAXIMUM DRIVE!

Their guns began to charge up with energy, and the troops aimed their guns at the weakened creature, holding their guns in two hands. The monster tried to get up, trying to get away at all costs. It was too weak; it would not be going anywhere anytime soon.

Or anytime in the future.

With their guns fully charged, they pulled the trigger, launching a powerful blast of energy at the Dopant. The combined force of their attacks impacted it, and created a bright neon explosion. The troops, their eyes protected by their visors, waited out for the light to fade to reveal a bear-morph, eyes sunken in, falling unconscious to the floor. A Memory shot out from his body, this one more ribbed and fleshy in appearance, and clattered to the floor before sparking and exploding itself.

"_With Amnesia patrolling our streets, Jinsoku City was finally reassured safety, and Dopants were no longer feared as they were before." The footage clipped to images of Amnesia troops walking around the city, shaking hands with grateful citizens, and performing different drills and training sessions within their camps. _

The troop's leader walked over to the morph, with his fellow members following. One of them pulled out a set of handcuffs from their vest, fastening them onto the morph's paws and roughly raising him up. He was guided away as their leader pulled out a plastic bag from his vest, reaching down to scoop up the broken Memory, and securely sealing up the bag. With a satisfied nod, he turned to follow his fellow troops to an armored vehicle that was fast approaching. It stopped just a short distance away from them, and its doors opened up.

"DOPANT NEUTRALIZED. ADVISE THE STREETS TO UNDO LOCK UP PROCEDURE. TAKE CRIMINAL INTO CUSTODY AND HEAD HOME."

_"We learned to lock up our buildings, and we learned to stay away from these creatures, running away in an organized fashion. We were put through drills, and Dopant alarms were installed throughout the city. Now, if there is ever a Dopant attack, we, along with the protection of Amnesia, are more prepared to take down these maniacs, and bring peace to our people. For this, we thank you Amnesia. Because of you, we are now free to feel safe once again. Reporting live fro—"_

The screen cut to black, and the TV cooled down as it was turned off. A wolf-morph from the opposite side of the TV placed the remote down next to him, chuckling slightly. A female morph of the same species sat next to him, presumably his sister.

"That's cute," the male one said, "They think it's all over." He chuckled more, slumping lazily in his seat. His sister had a smile across her muzzle as well, letting out a sigh.

"So brother," she began, "shall we get to business then?"

"Oh, yes we shall," the brother replied, clapping his paws together and standing from his seat. He walked over to a nearby desk, opening up a suitcase mounted on top of it. Inside of it were dozens of Memories, nearly identical to those of Amnesia, but harboring a variety of colors and letters. He counted them off, making sure that everything was in order, and nothing was missing. Once he was sure of it, he closed it up, latching the clasps into place. He picked up the suitcase by the handle, and gave his sister a nod.

"Let us go then," she said as she left out the door, her brother following close behind.

"Yes, let us go," he continued, "it's time we let the world know of our presence. Day Zero was only the beginning. Now it is time to introduce ourselves."

The sister turned to him in amusement. "As the Earth's children?" The brother shook his head.

"My dear sister, you know better than that." The sister laughed and turned away, swishing her tail softly. "Or…do you need a reminder?"

"I know who we are, brother," she replied, "We are seeds."

"Yes," the brother replied, "seeds of The Earth's Tree."


	2. CH 1 - Start From Count Zero

Disclaimer: Kamen Rider is owned by Bandai, Toei, as well as any other company I have failed to mention. This is a fan based fanfiction of Kamen Rider W. Kamen Rider Zero is created by me. Any other character sharing similarity to anyone else's creations is completely coincidental. (I'm not the most creative person in the world after all. There's bound to be overlap with _something. _)

Kamen Rider Zero

CH 1: Start _F_rom _Count Zero_

"Argh…come on…" a young male black panther-morph struggled with the door's control panel, pressing a finger to the top portion. "Just…just open up already!" He tapped his finger against the panel several more times, but producing no progress. He let out a low growl of irritation, flicking his tail in annoyance as he tapped the panel several more times. He reached up with his other hand to fix the collar of his bright green shirt, the makeshift uniform of the shop he was trying to enter. A young snow leopard-morph in a similar uniform chuckled at his antics in amusement, swishing her tail happily and flicking her ears once.

"Come on then," she teased him lightly, "let's try to open up on opening time." The panther let out a low growl, pressing on the panel a little more aggressively. The leopard laughed, placing her paw on his shoulder. "Do you need some help there?" The panther blinked in confusion and turned to her.

"Y-yes!" he replied in an irritated tone, "I asked you several times already!" The leopard laughed again, stepping back.

"I know," she chimed, "it's just funny to ask." She chuckled again as he turned to face the panel again, mumbling something under his breath. "Boy, to think _we _used to tease our folks about being hopelessly lost when it came to technology, but it seems like you're in the same situation _they've _been in."

"_Shut _up," he snapped back, trying hard to suppress a smile creeping up his muzzle. He pressed the panel another time, still not making progress. The leopard laughed.

"Alright, alright, I've got it," she laughed as the panther moved aside to allow her access. She placed her finger in the center of the panel, waiting for a few seconds. She removed her finger, and a soft click was heard, signaling that the door had opened. She turned her head to him, a smug expression across her features. "See? It's not that hard."

"Tch, well this would've been faster if you'd just told me how," he replied, the smile he had been trying to hold back escaping and spreading across his muzzle. The leopard smiled back.

"Hey, if I do everything for you then you'll never learn," she said to him as she opened the door and walked through, with the panther following close behind. As she walked over to a nearby desk, she placed a single finger on her lip. "Hmmm, I hope you can manage working today. I mean, we _are _in a tech shop after all, and it seems _techy _stuff doesn't seem to be your strong point… Hmmm…" She smiled as she flicked her eyes towards the other feline.

"Yeah, right," he replied, eyes half-lidded, "I should be worried about working on stuff I've _been _working on for quite a while because I was unable to figure out how to operate some _newly _installed tech. I'm glad to know how much faith you have in me, Erika." The leopard laughed, pointing a finger at him.

"Hey, no need to get smart with _me, _Arata," Erika said as she activated the various computers of the shop, "Don't forget who _gave _you this job." Arata laughed as well, swishing his tail behind him as he got to activating the computers as well. The two of them worked at a computer / tech shop in Jinsoku City. While there weren't very many of these shops around, customer activity tended to be on the mediocre side of things. They didn't mind this, however, as the two of them generally enjoyed simply spending their time there. Erika was the owner of the spry shop, and Arata was her most trusted (as well as her only) hired employee. The two of them got along well, being that the two of them were close friends.

"So are you _sure _you can handle yourself today?" Erika said teasingly, "There could be some new programs that you'll have to install." Arata chuffed.

"I wouldn't have a problem with them if you'd just friggin tell me how to work them!" he replied ecstatically, a wide grin spread across his muzzle. Erika laughed.

"I keep telling you! You're _not _gonna learn if I show you how to do _everything._" Just as Arata opened his mouth to respond, the shop's door opened up, allowing a husky-morph and a weasel-morph to walk through.

"Hey guys," the husky greeted them, taking a seat nearby.

"Hey Dave, hey Vince," Erika greeted back, waving to each of them.

"So like I was saying," the husky said to the weasel, "if you go down the left corridor, the guard'll be there waiting for you. He'll have the armor set you've been trying to get."

"I _tried _going down there," the weasel replied, "but there was some _fog _in the way."

"I know. It's because he's a _boss._" The weasel nodded in understanding, smacking himself lightly in the head.

"What game're you guys talking about _this _time Dave?" Arata asked curiously, looking up from the monitor.

"Darker Souls," Dave replied, turning back to the weasel and continuing to give him advice. Arata shrugged, and got back to work. Anytime the pair got to talking about a game he didn't play, the panther tended to tune them out for the while. It wasn't because he wasn't a gamer, as he had his own share of games he's invested time on, but if it was something _he _wasn't in to, he was practically out of the conversation.

"So down slash…alright," the weasel replied, slumping in his seat and relaxing. At that, the room went silent, everyone's conversations practically ending at once. A moment of silence set in, and the panther paused in his work, his ears flattening against his head. Noticing this, Erika looked up form her monitor.

"That ringing bugging you again?" she asked him tenderly. Arata nodded, rubbing the back of his neck. "Yeah, figured. Don't worry, I was in the middle of looking up some songs to play anyways." She clicked several times on her mouse, and the room was suddenly filled with smooth music. The panther's ears raised form his head, and he let out a sigh of relief. He nodded to her in thanks as he returned his attention to the screen.

"I keep forgetting that you have that," Dave commented, tilting his head slightly, "Hey Vince, do you remember what he called it?"

"I dunno," the weasel replied in a bored and tired tone, "something with a 't' I think?"

"Tinnitus," Arata informed them, getting back to work on his computer, "and I think it's gotten louder lately." Erika cringed slightly.

"There _is _a cure for that thing, right?" Arata nodded.

"I'm gonna find the time to get the treatment." He pressed several more keys on the keyboard before moving on to the computer beside him. "For now I gotta get my life straightened out." The group nodded in understanding.

"Man, that must really suck though," Dave commented, "How'd you even get that anyways?" Arata's hands froze, and he bit his lip slightly. Another moment of silence passed between the group, only being filled by the music playing throughout the small shop. All eyes fell upon the panther, making him look up from the screen.

"What's wrong?" Vince asked, "Do you now know how you got it?"

"I…I know…" Arata replied, lowering his head slowly, "it…it's just…" He twiddled his thumbs, keeping his eyes on the screen.

"Just what?" Dave asked curiously, "Something wrong?" Arata didn't reply for a moment. After a while, he let out a sigh, and looked up from the screen.

"I got it from…Day Zero…" Once more, the room fell to silence. It was Arata who broke it. "There was a lot of…gunfire…around my area that day…so…I'm fairly sure that's how…" No one else even made a sound, once again leaving the music to be the only thing filling the silence.

"OoooooooohhhhKAY," Erika spoke up, clapping her paws together, "_how _'bout we move on to a different subject huh?" She turned to Arata, and he turned to her. "How's your kabuto been doing? Wh-what was his name again?"

"It…it was Souji," Arata replied, shaking his head and snapping back into reality, "and he's been fine. Complacent as usual." He smiled and turned back towards the screen, getting back to work. "I actually managed to give him his own little habitat. Well, little isn't how I'd describe it anymore, considering I extended his tank a whole bunch." He looked back towards the group, a happy smile across his muzzle again. "I fixed it up so that it seems almost like a real forest."

"Dude, that is cool," Dave commented enthusiastically, "How big is it?"

"That's what she said," Vince muttered under his breath, earning a dirty look from Erika from her desk.

"I got it big enough to fill up half of the room," Arata told them, swapping over to the next computer, "I'm worried though, cuz I'm sure I picked up some unexpected guests somewhere within all of those branches and dirt."

"I'm sure he's still lonely there though," Erika sighed, continuing to work on her computer, "With no other little beetles for him to socialize with, the poor guy must be so empty inside." Dave chuckled.

"Hey, _you _could always pay him a _visit,_" he teased, a sly grin across his muzzle. Erika's hands stopped, and Arata and Vince shot each other troubled looks. Erika raised a brow, glancing in his direction. "I'm sure lil' Souji wouldn't mind the company of a fellow bug to talk with."

"Uhuh…." Erika began, slowly moving away from her computer and inching towards the husky, "what else do you think we'd do Dave?" Arata and Vince chuckled from where they sat, the husky-morph completely oblivious to what was about to happen.

"Well see, _first _you'd sidle up to him," Dave went on, unaware of Erika's approach, "and then you'd get all _nice n' comfy…_"

"Uhuh," Erika nodded, walking innocently up to him, "and we'd get to dinner, right?" Dave chuffed, nodding. "I see… Hey uh, could you maybe get up from that seat please? I gotta move it to my desk." Arata and Vince snickered, trying to contain themselves. Dave shrugged, paying no mind to this, and stood from his seat.

"Yeah, and then the two of you would gaze into the moonlight, and you would—" Suddenly, Erika's paws shot forward, and then Dave was face down on the floor, his leg held up by the leopard-morph. At that, Arata and Vince broke into laughter.

"One thing you haven't learned about me Dave," Erika began, letting go of his leg and standing over him, "I don't flip people off. I flip them over." At that, the entire group laughed, including Dave.

* * *

><p>Two well dressed wolf-morphs silently made their way towards a steel door. The two canines were walking down a dark railroad tunnel, the sounds of their footsteps echoing throughout the area. The male of the pair had a briefcase in his paws, and the female's paws were clasped neatly behind her back. The pair walked up to the door, knocking in a rhythmic pattern. Footsteps from behind the door were heard, and soon stopped near it.<p>

"Does the willow weep?" a deep voice asked. The male smiled, and leaned in slightly.

"It shrieks through the night," the wolf answered. At that, several heavy clicks sounded from the other side before it slid open, a large Doberman-morph moving aside to allow them entrance. The wolves bowed politely as they walked past the fellow canine, and entered into a long hallway. Not wasting any time, the two wolves started their way down the hall.

"He seems to be an easy customer," the female began, "but are you _sure _he will want to buy your Memories? After all br—"

"Ah-ah-AH!" the male silenced her, holding up a single finger, "When we're working, we _must _use our code names." The female sighed in irritation.

"Fine_ Crosshair_," she chuffed, "Are you absolutely sure that he will want to buy these new models? No one has seen them before, so he might think that you are simply scamming him."

"And _that _is why I have a plan," he replied, holding the same finger up higher, "You do not need to be concerned with my business skills, _Stopwatch_, for I _know _what I am doing." He chuckled slightly, and Stopwatch rolled her eyes.

"Such a child, it amazes me sometimes," she turned to him, "and I do _not _understand why you do not simply allow me to use my Memory to convince people. It would make things _much _easier." Crosshair laughed.

"Because it is extremely unprofessional," he explained, "and besides, who would want to deal with someone with a Dopant standing next to them?"

"Smart people," Stopwatch snapped, "But it wouldn't matter becau—"

"ShHH!" Crosshair cut her off, making a gesture with his free paw, "It's almost time to start." The two wolves made it to the end of the hall, reaching another steel door. Two guards saw their approach, and they opened up the doors for them. Behind the doors was a casually dressed jackal-morph, wearing a simple set of jeans and a hoodie. He looked up as they approached, and gestured for them to take a seat.

"Hello fine sir," Crosshair greeted him as he sat down, "shall we get to business then?"

"Well I didn't call you in for tea," the jackal retorted, sitting up straight, "Go on then, show me the goods." Smiling, the male wolf leaned in, placing the suitcase atop the table, and opened it up, revealing the variety of Memories to him. The jackal looked at them briefly before reeling back. "The hell is this? I asked you for MEMORIES didn't I?!" Crosshair smiled again, leaning back in his seat and folding his paws together in his lap.

"Oh, but good sir, these _are _Gaia Memories, I assure you." The jackal shot him a look of suspicion, his lip curling up to reveal his sharp teeth. "What you are looking at are our newly designed models, exclusive to me and my organization. I'm sure you've heard of us? The Earth's Tree?" The jackal narrowed his eyes at him.

"Never heard of em."

"Oh," the wolf frowned, "well, that will soon change. Soon, The Earth's Tree will be known as the quintessential group to buy your Gaia Memory fix." He leaned in again, his muzzle spreading with a grin. "And you can help us you know. All we need you to do is show the world what these Memories can do." The jackal's eyes remained narrowed at him.

"What makes your Memories so special anyways?" he snapped at him, "They just look like the shit Amnesia uses, just all colored in kindergarten colors." Crosshair chuffed.

"I can assure you, these Memories _far _surpass those of Amnesia," he patted the suitcase, "They don't even come _close _to these. These Memories grant you power _far _beyond anything you can imagine." He leaned in again, his torso practically hovering over the table top. "Even Amnesia's troops, what with their…what was it called…Maximum Drives? They will be useless against you, as long as you have _these_." He pushed the suitcase slightly closer to the jackal. "You will be invincible, and so will these Memories, for they have been designed to be indestructible. Nothing will break them, not even if you are defeated. There is no fear of that of course, being as powerful as you are…" The jackal placed a paw to his chin, thinking for a moment.

"I'm still not convinced." Hearing this, Stopwatch chuckled, soon silenced by a hand gesture from Crosshair.

"Then let's have a deal," he began, "You see, I already have two others that are considering buying some of these themselves. They are two very important customers, so of course, I accepted their proposals. Now, since you are so conflicted about whether or not you should buy one, how about instead, I allow you…a quick demo…if you would?" The jackal raised a brow.

"…Go on…"

Crosshair smiled. "Those two gentlemen I mentioned before will be going on a…a demonstration…some time today. If you accept, you will accompany these two during their demonstration, and spread the word of _how great _these new Memories are."

The jackal's brows remained raised, but he remained skeptical. "What exactly do you mean by…demonstration?"

"Oh, you know," Crosshair chimed, "destroying buildings, attacking people, etc, etc." The jackal smiled.

"…Alright," he said with a grin, "I'll give it a shot. I'll see for myself just how 'great' these things are."

With a satisfied smile, the wolf slid the case closer to the other canine. "Then take your pick…" He leaned in, looking through the various Memories. Eventually, he picked one out, and clicked the button at the front.

BULLET!

"Ahhh, yes," said Crosshair, "a personal favorite of mine. _Very _nice choice good sir." The jackal nodded.

"Alright, it's a deal then." He stood up, and offered him a paw. A shark like grin spread across the wolf's muzzle as he stood and shook the offered paw.

"A deal it is…"

* * *

><p>"See ya guys!" Erika waved as the two non-uniformed males exited the shop. She let out a sigh as she returned back into the shop. Turning towards Arata, she blinked in surprise. "You know, you can leave if you want. We've already hit the slow period of the day." The panther shook his head.<p>

"It's fine. I don't really have much to do today anyways." Erika shrugged, moving closer to her friend.

"So…hey…" she began gently, "you…doin' better with…you know…dealing with that day?" He nodded in response, continuing to work on his computer, closing various programs that had been opened up by the customers.

"It's been getting easier, but I still have some…bad days…" Erika rubbed his shoulder gently.

"Yeah, I get what you mean. I sometimes have those days too." He turned to her, and she patted his shoulder. "Tell ya what." She held up a paw, raising her pinky. "From here on out, let's promise each other that we'll get over that day eventually. Then we'll be able to deal with hearing about it if it ever comes up again."

Arata smiled warmly at her, curling his own pinky around hers. "It's a promise." Erika's smile widened, and they shook their paws.

"Until then, I'm gonna find a way to finally bring an end to Dopants," she chimed happily, earning a chuckle from the other feline, "what?"

"It-it's nothing really," Arata replied, a smile spread across his muzzle, "it's just, sometimes that pride of yours can really blind you."

"I'm _serious_," she laughed, taking a step back, "I'm gonna find the weakness Memories have. Watch me." Arata chuffed, turning back towards the monitor.

"You amaze me sometimes Erika, you know that?" She smiled, flattening her ears against her head, "One of these days, that pride of yours is gonna get you into hot water." Erika chuffed, shaking her head.

"You know, you're lucky that we're talking about a sensitive subject right now," she teased, "otherwise I'd be flipping you over right—" Her sentence was cut short as a loud, shrill siren wailed out throughout the streets. The feline's smiles quickly faded as they realized what was going on. Erika quickly ran over to the doors, setting them into lock down mode while Arata moved over to the lights, shutting all of them down. With the doors locked, Erika quickly dashed over to a switch on the wall. She flipped it, causing metal bars and shades to slide down over the windows of the shop.

"In my office! Now!" Erika shouted, guiding Arata to the small room and shutting the door behind her.

* * *

><p>"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" The sound of maniacal laughter was drowned out by the even louder sound of bullets being fired. Rapid succession, single fire, cannon shots, sounds of several different guns were echoing throughout the barren streets. Banging, popping, cracking, clinking, all sounds coming from and caused by one individual.<p>

A Dopant.

This one was a sort of metalized being. It wore a tactical vest around its torso, and its head was encased in a metal coating, with what appeared to be a bullet hole in the center. The rest of it was practically draped with bullets. Its shoulder guards were made of bullets, its battle skirt was made of bullets and gun barrels, and it even wore a necklace made of bullets. A heavy machine gun was branded to its left arm, and a large, double barreled shot gun was branded to its right. Both of its gun arms were loaded with clips and extra bullets, signaling that the Dopant would not be running out of ammo any time soon.

"That guy was RIGHT!" it cackled out, continuing to bombard various buildings with bullets and bullet holes from its gun arms, "this feels aMAzing! I can FEEL the power flowing through my VEINS!" The Dopant aimed at one of the sirens, annihilating it and silencing its alarm. It continued to laugh maniacally as it proudly marched down the street, littering the floor with used bullets.

Suddenly, the sound of a copter filled the air. The Dopant looked up, catching sight of a black armored helicopter. The back doors opened up, allowing its armored troopers to drop down around it. Once they were on the ground, they unslung their magnums from their belts and aimed them at it.

"DOPANT CONFIRMED AS A NEW TYPE. UNABLE TO IDENTIFY. TAKE DOWN ON SIGHT." Without a word of warning, the troopers opened fire on the gun heavy Dopant. Sparks flew as the bullets collided with its incredibly sturdy body, causing it to stagger back several steps. It found stable footing and stood there, its body only shifting slightly as their guns fired upon it. Eventually, the firing ceased, and the Dopant remained standing.

"…HahahahaHAHAHAHAHA!" it cackled, throwing its arms up in the air, "I didn't even feel a THING! This is INCREDIBLE!" It aimed its guns at the troopers, who quickly jumped out of the way as it blasted its _own _guns at them.

"Change to heavy fire!" the leader spoke through their radio system, "the armor on this one is thicker, so we need to—GACK!" He was cut off as his torso was met with an immeasurable amount of slashes. He fell back and onto the ground, clutching his chest as a new figure came into view, one covered in sharp blades around its torso and body, while carrying two others in its hands. The other troopers changed targets, firing at the creature near their commander. However, it was fast, whipping its arms forward and slashing wildly at their bullets, littering the floor with half cut bullets.

"Another Dopant! Repeat! Another Dopant!" the commander yelled out as he scrambled back, firing at the new individual regardless of its ability to defend itself. The other troopers backed into each other, dividing themselves to either fight the original Dopant, or the other.

"RETREAT FOR NOW. REPEAT, RETREAT FOR NOW. SECOND DOPANT IS UNIDENTIFIABLE. REPEAT, UNIDENTIFIABLE." Taking formation, the troops began to back off, firing uselessly against the oppressors. One of the troopers stepped back further, and stepped in a puddle of water. He paid no mind to this, that is, until the water began to rise up to his knees. Before he could question, the water engulfed the entire team, twisting them around and tossing them aside like ragdolls. They crashed into the ground, their team scattered everywhere, and their formation broken. Soon, the whirlpool of water solidified into another creature, this one having translucent blue skin, and bright yellow eyes.

"Third Dopant!" the leader screamed as he scrambled to his feet, "Repeat, third Dopant!" All of the other members scrambled to their feet, trying their best to get into a formation as they hastily retreated, desperately shooting their guns at the three monstrosities.

"I didn't need your back up ya know," the bullet one snapped, "I was doing fine before _you _two showed up."

"Do _not _forget why you are here, Bullet," the edged one snapped back, pointing a blade at him, "we are simply displaying the power of The Earth's Tree, and I would appreciate it if you could acknowledge that."

"Whatever," Bullet sighed, pushing him aside, "as long as I get to do _this," _he thrust his arm out, firing a cannon blast at one of the troopers and sending them flying. He cackled maniacally, "then I'm fine with _whatever _the hell you people need from me." He started for the fleeing troopers, only to be stopped by a watery hand on his shoulder. Turning to look, he met the eyes of the Water Dopant.

"Good," he began, "because it is time you came along for the _job _Crosshair mentioned." Before he could object, he tugged Bullet by the shoulder and dragged him away, leaving Edge with the troopers. He sighed boredly, scraping his blades against each other.

"Well then Amnesia," he hissed, "I shall now introduce you to the fruit of The Earth's Tree." At that, he dashed forward, leaving behind a storm of slashes in his wake.

* * *

><p>Erika's paw was clasped over her muzzle as she watched her small screen in horror, seeing Amnesia's troopers rendered practically helpless against these terrifying new outlaws. Arata was in a similar state, finding himself completely speechless, eyes wide and jaw gaping open.<p>

"_S-so," the reporter spoke over the live feed, her voice trembling though trying to remain calm, "s-some info just came into our studio, informing us on the…th-the situation." The sound of rustling paper was heard. "Th-the group claims to have come from an organization…th-that goes by the name of…The Earth's Tree." The reporter cleared her throat, trying to maintain her posture. "N-not much else has been discovered, as the info seems to have come…directly from the attackers… From what we've been told by authorities, these Dopants do not seem to show up on any records, so these may very well be new Dopants…" This time, a gulp. "H-hopefully, Amnesia will be able to pull through. O-our hearts go out to you. Our lives are in the hands of fate now…" _

"This…this can't be happening…" Erika spoke shakily, trembling from where she was crouched, "why can't they handle these guys! Wh-what's going on?!"

"I…I don't know…" Arata replied, mouth still agape, "I don't…I don't…" Erika turned to him, absolutely stricken with fear.

"A…Arata…" she began, having difficulty continuing, "you…you don't think that…that…" Her lip quivered, unable to finish her thought. Arata swallowed, his throat having dried up.

"They'll…they'll get em for sure…" he tried to reassure her, "they…they're gonna find a way…"

"_Hold on," the reporter's voice sounded out, bringing the felines' attention back to the screen, "it-it seems two of the Dopants have broken off to form a second group. They seem to be headed off to another direction." The live feed showed the Bullet Dopant and the Water Dopant walking away, the latter of the two dragging the first along with him. "We're not sure exactly what they have in mind, but they appear to have a clear objective here." _

Erika gasped, once again covering her muzzle with a paw. She gripped Arata's shoulder tightly with her other paw. "Arata," she began desperately, "that's our street they're walking down… That means that—"

"D-don't be stupid Erika," he cut her off, turning to her, "they're not after us. There's no reason to believe that."

"No-no-no-no-no-no-no," she shook her head, the terror gone from her eyes, only to be replaced by complete panic, "you don't understand. Th-there's something here, a-and I think they're after it."

"What are you talking about Erika?!" Arata turned to fully face her, "What's going on? Why would you think there's something here for them?!"

"Arata," she said firmly, a serious expression crossing her face, "I told you before that I'd find a way to get rid of all Dopants, didn't I?" Arata went speechless, only managing a nod. Erika didn't say anything else for a moment, her eyes looking from the screen, to the door, then back to the panther-morph. "…Arata?"

"…Yeah?" She didn't say anything again, constantly looking from the door to him, then to the door, and back to him again.

"Stay here, there's something I need to do." At that, she stood up, making her way for the door. Stunned by her actions, it took a moment before Arata quickly got up and reached out with his arm, grabbing on to hers and stopping her in her tracks. She whipped her head around, glaring at him in frustration.

"What do you think you're doing?!" he demanded, locking their gazes together with a concerned look, "Are you crazy?! If you go out there, then you could get seriously hurt, or WORSE." Breaking away from his eyes, Erika twisted her arm out of his grasp and bolted for the door, quickly unlocking it and making for the exit of the building. The panther-morph ran after her, managing to catch up to her and catch her again. He turned her towards him, grasping her by the shoulders. "No! You're NOT going out there. I already lost an aunt, _and _a newborn cousin. I will NOT lose you too!" Erika caught her breath, finding herself unable to reply after his grim reminder. The two of them stared into each other's eyes, unable to come up with anything else to say.

Erika eventually tore her gaze away from him, looking off to the side. She bared her teeth, growling lowly in irritation. After a moment, she turned back to him. "Fine then," she began, gently pushing his arms away from her body, "if you're so insistent on this, then you're coming with me." Before Arata could even register what she had said, she grabbed _him _by the arm, dragging him along as she quickly unlocked the door before swinging it open, pulling him along as she made a mad dash for the outside. Erika screeched to a stop as her eyes caught sight of a dark, metal figure.

"Move!" Erika yelled out, pushing Arata forward as she broke into a run for the other direction, the sound of bullets hitting their ears as the Dopant tried to shoot at them. She turned a sharp corner, dragging Arata along as she slunk around dark passages and narrow alleyways. They soon reached a bunker that led under ground, hidden from view of the outside world. "Come on!" she shouted out, letting go of Arata's arm and kneeling down to unlock the steel door sealing it, "we don't have a lot of time."

As she knelt down, she suddenly winced in pain. Arata looked at her, and his eyes widened in fear. "Erika!" He quickly moved to her side, kneeling down to her level and looking down at her leg.

It was bleeding.

Erika sucked in air through her teeth, keeping her focus on the locked door as she finally managed to unlock it. She bared her teeth as she wrenched the door open. "I'm fine, just get inside first!" Deciding not to object, the panther hopped through and made it inside, turning back to help her in as she closed the door behind her. Erika winced again as more pain shot up her leg. Arata quickly but gently set her down.

"Keep pressure on that wound," he instructed her, feeling around for a light switch and flicking it on, "don't remove your hands before I say so." As she did so, he knelt down and extended his leg, drawing out a single claw and cutting at one of the legs of his pants. Once he felt the cut was large enough, he tore at the pants, tearing off a long piece of fabric. He then moved closer to Erika's injured leg, having her point out the wound before finally having her remove her hands. Once they were off, he immediately wrapped the cloth around the wound, tying it tightly before applying direct pressure onto the area of the wound.

"Arata…" Erika trembled, tears beginning to roll down her face as she watched him.

"You're gonna be alright," he promised her, keeping his eyes focused on her wound, "We're gonna make it through this… You're going to make it…"

"It's not that…" she said grimly, causing him to look up to her, "I'm…sorry for…bringing you into this…" Arata caught his breath, confusion spreading across his face.

"What. Are. You. Talking about Erika?" his ears flattened against his head, "You _still _haven't told me why we're here. What is going on Erika? Please tell me!" Erika's own ears flattened against her head.

"I've…been keeping a secret from you guys…" she explained, "…Come on, help me up. I need to show you myself."

"I'm not doing that," Arata shook his head, "There has to be pressure on this wound. Just keep pressing on it and I'll find whatever it is you're hiding."

"No," this time it was Erika who shook her head, "I _need _to do this. Just tighten this thing up, then help me up." Arata let out an irritated growl, but let go anyways, albeit rather reluctantly. He tightened up the wrapping and tied it into a knot, causing her to wince slightly. Once he was sure it was secure, Arata stood up and helped her up as well, the leopard hooking her arm around his neck. Now up and about, she hobbled him down the corridor, leading him to the left, and down a small set of stairs. They reached a room, and she opened the door up. What was behind the door left Arata speechless.

It was a small room, but had a lot of stuff inside. Off to the side was a large patch of soil, presumably from dug up from underneath the building. The dirt itself was bunched up in rows, giving off the impression of being raked or tilled. Growing out of the patch were various plants and weeds. Tables aligned with the wall opposite of the dirt patch was a table, littered with various unfinished or otherwise scrapped pieces of strange tech. Different tools and blueprints were there amongst the mess as well. Finally, off to the back of the room, opposite of the door, was a lighted desk, with the top part being made of glass, and the portion underneath illuminating the area with a florescent light. Other notes and papers were scattered around the desk itself. Atop the desk was a set of flasks, beakers and test tubes, each one harboring a different colored liquid from the other. Other various chemical equipment was spread around it as well, some showing evidence of recent use. However, what caught Arata's attention the most was what was at the center. In the middle of the table, there was a glass box, harboring its own dirt. What grew out of it, though, made Arata's heart nearly stop.

Gaia Memories.

Arata stared at the room in complete shock, his muzzle hanging open as he tried to figure out what it was he wanted to say. Erika's head hung low, staring down at the ground. "I was…going to tell you eventually," she said to him, "but…I wanted to wait for the right moment…" Arata finally turned to her.

"E…Erika," he said with difficulty, "don't tell me that…that you're…that this…"

"Yes Arata," she nodded, avoiding eye contact with him, "this…is my Gaia garden…" Again, Arata's mouth hung agape. His eyes began to tear up, and a lump formed in his throat. "B-but it's not what you think!" she said suddenly, turning back to him, "I'm not part of the black market or anything."

"Then…then why—"

"Like I said before," she cut him off, "I'm going to find a way to get rid of Dopants for good." She turned towards the desk. "So I've been studying Memories myself, using my own set of Memories." She turned back to the panther-morph, her ears flat against her head, "I'm getting close to the answer, Arata, and I think that's why those Dopants are on their way here. That…Earth's Tree or whatever must've found out about my garden. Either they don't want anymore competition, or they might already know about what I'm trying to do." She unhooked her arm from his neck, almost falling over in the process if not for the quick reflexes of her friend. Once she stood straight again, she grasped both of his shoulders in her paws. "Arata, I need you to help me." She looked down at her injured leg, then back to him, "I can't fight those things out there, but…you can…"

Arata gave her a look of confusion and distress. "What…what do you mean?"

Erika's eyes bore into his as she gave him a serious look. "Arata, I…_really_ don't want to have to do this to you. I really care about you, and I never wanted to put you in any danger but…we're out of options here." She suddenly gestured for him to support her again, and he hooked her arm around his neck once more. She guided him over to the tables of scrapped and disassembled tech. Once she was close enough, she dug out a red device from beneath the mess. Arata caught his breath in shock as he realized what it was. "I believe…you already know what this is…right."

Arata nodded slowly, staring at the device. "But…how…"

"During a past Dopant attack," she explained, "one of the Amnesia members had their Lost Drivers get messed up to a point that it got totaled. I found out that they never got to cleaning it up, so it was never re-claimed by them. I eventually found the thing, and scooped it up for myself. I tinkered with it a bit, and I eventually got it back to full functionality." She smiled nervously. "Heh, I-I guess you could say that it…it really _is _a Lost Driver…huh?" Arata's expression did not change, him being too far into shock to register her humor. The snow leopard's nervous smile faded. "S-sorry, just…felt like trying to lighten up the mood, ya know?" She shook her head, her serious demeanor returning to her. She handed him the device. "Hold on to this, I need to get something else." Still dumbfounded, Arata took the device from her paw, and helped her as she guided them over to the lighted desk. She reached into the glass box, pulling out a light blue Memory. She turned to him.

"This…is my pride and joy," she told him, holding up the Memory for him to see, "I've been working on this one the most, and now it's a purified Memory." Arata realized that she was right, as the Memory did not hold the ribs that a Dopant Memory had. Instead, it appeared more like the ones Amnesia used, though different in its color. Erika looked into his eyes again, locking their gazes together. "Arata, I'm about to ask you something that will decide the course of our life from here on out." The panther gulped nervously.

"…What is it?" Erika held their gaze together for a moment longer, not saying anything for a moment.

"For the sake of both of us, will you use this, along with the Lost Driver, to fight against the Dopants?" Arata's heart all but stopped. He tried to tear his gaze away from hers, but found that he couldn't. "Arata…I can't fight those things the way I am now, not in this condition." She planted a paw on his shoulder, gripping it tightly. "Arata, you know I wouldn't do this to you otherwise, but we don't have much of a choice at this point." Her eyes began to water, her serious expression melting away to a look of desperation and despair. "Arata, I'm begging you… I don't want to die…not here…not now…please…" At that, she buried her head into his chest, and allowed her tears to spill from her eyes. "Arata…" she sobbed, "I'm so sorry…"

Arata didn't say anything for a while, as he still couldn't figure out what he wanted to say. So instead, he simply allowed her to cry into him, gently patting her back as she wept. His ears lowered down, and his tail hung limply from his body. She was right; there really wasn't any other option left. He was the only one that could do this. He looked at the Driver in his paw, angling it this way and that as it was illuminated in the florescent light of the desk. He let out a sigh, and turned back to Erika, who had eventually settled down, containing herself to a silent cry. "…Erika?"

She looked up, her eyes reddened and watery. They held their gazes together for a moment, before Arata finally made a slow nod. He looked down at his waist, and slapped the device on, causing a silvery belt to snake around his midsection. Erika gasped, and looked back up to him. "…Arata?"

He closed his eyes, trying his best to keep a calm demeanor. His eyes opened, and they looked at each other once more. "I'll do it. We're _friends _after all. You'd do the same after all." Erika chocked, eyes watering again as a sad smile crossed her muzzle.

"Thank you Arata… Thank you so much…" She leaned in closer, hugging him tightly. She released him, and looked into his eyes once more. "I'll make it up to you one day, I swear." Arata smiled weakly at her, his mind still numb to the situation. "Listen…this isn't an ideal place to transform. I…haven't gotten around to…testing this thing yet…" Her grip tightened on his shoulder. "You'll…have to transform…out there…" Arata didn't say anything, only managing a nod. Erika chocked again, her body beginning to tremble. "Please…be safe… I could never forgive myself if you got hurt because of what I've done…" She began to break down again, just barely managing to get a hold of herself. "Please…"

Arata's paw went to hers, rubbing it reassuringly. "I will… Don't worry…" Erika nodded.

"I…I don't think I need to tell you this," she continued, "but…I'm sure that the cameras are still monitoring them. So…"

"I know," he replied, "stay away from the cameras. We don't need the press to know about…what we have…" Erika nodded grimly.

"…Set me down over there," she told him, gesturing to an area with her muzzle, "then…well…you know…" Arata nodded, helping her over to where she had indicated. He gently set her down, checking to make sure the wound was still tightly sealed. With that out of the way, she handed Arata the Memory. As he reached out to take it, Erika grasped his paw in both of hers, planting the Memory into his paw. She held him there for a moment, looking into his eyes. "Seriously…be safe out there…" They stared at each other for a moment, and Arata nodded.

"Don't worry," he said reassuringly, "I'll make it back… Promise…" At that, she let go of his paw, and he started for the door.

"W-wait!" Erika shouted suddenly, halting the panther in his tracks. He turned to her, a look of concern still spread across his face. She smiled gently at him. "Give 'em hell."

Arata smiled, nodding firmly. "You got it." Turning away one final time, Arata dashed out of the room, leaving the injured leopard-morph to herself. She stared down at her lap, tears spilling out of her eyes once more.

"Thank you Arata… Thank you…"

* * *

><p>"Tch, why are we even here?" Bullet chuffed, shooting a random wall in irritation, "I could be doing <em>so much <em>right now. Instead we're here _lollygagging _around, and for _what_?!" Water's eyes rolled as they continued to walk down the narrow alleyways.

"Just be quiet and behave," he scolded, "You were given a job, so just shut up and do it." Bullet growled out, thrusting his machine gun arm out and showering another wall with a cloud of bullets.

"At LEAST tell me what we're looking for," he sighed, looking up and watching the armored copter monitor the two of them from up above.

Water let out his own sigh of irritation. "My boss informed me that there seems to be a Gaia Garden somewhere around here." He turned a corner, looking this way and that. "_That _is what we are trying to find." He turned back to Bullet, glaring at him. "Now shut up, and do as you're told." The metal Dopant chuffed, aiming at another wall and shooting it with his shot gun arm.

"Whatever. As long as I get to rampage. _Speaking _of…" He thrust his arms towards the copter before firing multiple shots at the craft, several bullets hitting it before it flew back in a hasty retreat. The Dopant laughed before aiming at the buildings and walls and continuing to shower them in bullets. Water shook his head.

"Just come on," he grumbled, taking him by one of the barrels sticking out of his torso and pulling him along, prompting a complaint from the gun-crazed maniac. "Do your part and search as well. I don't need to be monitoring you like a child, so don't continue to act like one, otherwise I'll have to reso—" He cut himself off as he caught movement out of the corner of his eye. He whipped his head around and caught sight of a panther-morph, one of the felines Bullet had shot at not long ago. He spun the other Dopant around to face his way, pointing at him. "After him!" The panther broke into a run as Bullet hastily raised his arm up, still confused to the situation. Water growled in anger, batting Bullet over the head as he ran after the male, dragging the other Dopant along.

_He knows something, _he thought to himself, _otherwise he wouldn't have come out of shelter… _"We capture him alive," Water instructed Bullet as they ran, "at least until we find out if he has anything to do with that Garden…"

* * *

><p>Arata looked back, making sure the Dopants were still in pursuit. Once he was sure, he turned another corner, then another, and another. Looking up overhead, he watched the sky become progressively more difficult to see. He smirked and looked ahead. He knew these streets well, and now he was putting that knowledge to good use. He looked behind himself again, seeing the Dopants scramble around as they tried to catch sight of him again. Arata clicked his tongue in annoyance before purposefully slowing his pace enough for them to notice him again.<p>

_It won't be long, _he thought to himself, _I'm almost there. Just a couple more blocks. _He turned another corner before reaching an enclosed area, where many of the buildings blocked out most of the sky, and the ground was otherwise clear of any benches or debris. To the opposite side of where he had came from was a bigger opening, one that was a little more wide compared to the alleyways they had just been running, and was where most of the area's light came from. He reached the end of the arena-like enclosure and slid to a stop, turning around to finally face the Dopants. _It's been a while since I've seen one up close… _His paw clenched into a fist, tightening his grip around the Memory. _At least this time, I'm not running away… _He smirked, slotting in the Memory into the Driver. _Never again. _

The Dopants ran into the area, stopping several meters in front of him. Bullet aimed his shot gun arm at the panther and Water slowly approached. He looked down at his waist, noticing the Driver.

"The hell?!" Bullet exclaimed, taking notice of the Driver as well, "Is he part of Amnesia?"

"No," Water shook his head, glaring at Arata, "I've studied each member, and he is not one of them." Arata smirked.

"You're right; I'm not one of them," he hovered his left paw over the Driver. Bullet raised his machine gun arm up, preparing to shoot the panther before Water raised his arm outwards, indicating for him to hold.

"Then who are you?" Water questioned, "and why do you have that Driver?" He took a threatening step forward. "Answer correctly, and we might let you off easy."

"While you're at it," Bullet added, "tell us where that _Garden _of yours is."

"Sorry, but I don't know anything about Gardens," he rested his paw against the top portion of his Driver, "but I know what bad guys look like when I see one, which is why I won't let you leave!" He shot his left paw out, shifting the device into a slanted position and triggering a confirming sound from the Memory.

FREEZE!

Suddenly, a blizzard swept around the panther morph, forcing him to shield himself with his right arm by raising it over his face. Deciding he'd waited long enough, Bullet attempted to shoot at the panther with his guns. However, the strong winds and snow around the area made it difficult to keep aim, and he ended up shooting around the feline.

Arata cringed as he struggled against the howling winds, his arm being kept in place by the sheer force of them. His eyes closed, and he felt his body began to shift and change. His breaths began to feel chilled, and his body lost its warmth, replaced by the same chilly feeling of his breath. He felt his muzzle begin to melt away, and he lost sensation in his mouth and tail. He then felt what seemed like a cloak envelop his body, wrapping around him in the direction of the winds. Despite his eyes being closed, he began to see what appeared to be his now armored arms. As his vision took on a greenish hue, he realized that he no longer had eyelids. He felt his body become slightly heavier as his armor solidified around him.

He struggled against the winds, his new cloak still wrapped around his arm and body. He grimaced as he tried to fight against it. His breaths became labored, filling his lungs with chilly air. He growled as he fought harder, suddenly feeling newfound strength flow through his body. "Hah!" With this new strength, he whipped his arm outwards, cancelling out the wind and flicking the cloak away from his body, causing it to flow behind him as the winds finally died out. With the blizzard gone and the cloak out of the way, the Dopants were able to see Arata's new form.

His body was covered in pure white armor, with streaks of light blue running along the sides of his shoulder pads. Underneath the armor was a sleek blue under-suit to cover the rest of him. His helmet, void of his muzzle, was white as well, with a streak of blue running along the bottom of it. A large crest adorned the front of it, stopping at his bright green eyes. Flowing behind him was the cloak that now acted very much like a cape. And of course, strapped around his waist, was the Driver from before, the bottom portion now glowing blue.

The Dopants stared at him in shock, having difficulty figuring out what had just happened.

"What…what was that?!" Bullet exclaimed, "That's not a Dopant, and that's _definitely _not one of Amnesia's troopers!" Arata looked at himself, taking in his new form. He clutched at his head as information about the Memory poured into his head at once, telling him what he could do and how to fight. He let out a sigh as the info finally stopped, and he removed his hand from his head.

"Not too sure myself," he told the two Dopants, his voice now sounding as though he were talking through water, "I'm new to this as well. But you know what? That's fine." He flicked his arm out, flicking his cloak away again and prompting another current of wind to flow around them once more. "You guys can help me test it out!"

"BULLSHIT!" Bullet roared out before thrusting his arms out, firing at him without restraint. Arata quickly grabbed up his cape with his left, wrapping it around his body. He staggered back several steps as the bullets barraged his form, causing sparks to fly everywhere. Bullet drew back in shock, ceasing in his firing. "That thing's bullet proof?!"

"Hah!" Arata cried out as he flicked his cloak away from his body, charging forward and straight for the metallic Dopant. Quickly closing the space in between them, he led with a firm jab from his right to the Dopant's head, followed by another jab from his left. The Dopant stumbled back, surprised by his sudden speed and strength. Before Arata could deliver another blow, he was knocked away by a firm kick to his side. He fell off to the side, rolling away several meters as he tried to find his footing. Looking up from where he was, he saw Water stalking towards him. He got back up to his feet before charging forward, launching a forward punch with his right. However, the Dopant liquefied, causing Arata's arm to phase straight through him. Before he could react, the Dopant overcame him, trapping him in a watery prison before re-solidifying behind him, restraining his arms behind him.

"Shoot him now!" Water yelled out, keeping Arata restrained as he struggled against him. Bullet, recovered from the earlier blows, thrust his machine gun arm out and fired at the armored male. He cried out in pain as the bullets pelted his body, causing more sparks to fly in every direction. Bullet stopped shooting, stepping forward in disbelief.

"Don't tell me that _he's _bullet proof too!" He aimed his shotgun arm at him, firing a shot. However, Arata anticipated this, adjusting his footing to quickly turn around, causing Water to take the blow instead. He cried out as the blast impacted him, causing his grip to loosen on Arata. Freeing himself, he back-kicked the Dopant away from him, sending him to tumble into the metallic Dopant. Twirling completely around, Arata charged forward before jumping into the air, kicking his leg out to deliver a strong spin kick at both of their heads. While Water was quick enough to evade, Bullet wasn't so lucky, and was met with a heavy blow to the head, knocking him out.

Water rolled away from them as Arata landed on the ground. The two of them locked gazes, beginning to circle around each other. It was just the two of them now. Closing up the space, Arata led with a round house kick from his right, his leg beginning to flow with an icy wind. Water leaned away from the kick, countering with a jab from his right. Arata parried by swinging his leg back, knocking Water's arm away before following up with a jump kick from his left. The attack connected, delivering a heavy blow to Water's head. Arata didn't let up, following through with the spin before back kicking him in the head with his right and knocking him back. Water took several steps back, his head beginning to become incased with a thin layer of ice.

"Ha_AH_!" Arata turned on his heels to deliver yet another roundhouse kick from his right, knocking Water back several more steps. Head spinning, the Dopant backed off. However, Arata quickly closed the space between them. Water tensed his body in an attempt to liquefy, but remained solid due to ice forming around, and even inside his body. Arata delivered a hard punch to Water's chest, freezing his body even more and making him stumble and fall backwards. He stopped near Bullet, and he took hold of his shoulders, shaking him awake.

"Wake up and fight!" he yelled out, causing Bullet to stir. Water pulled him up to his feet and pushed him towards the armored fighter. Still in a dazed state, Bullet hastily brought up his right arm. Using his left, Arata parried the barrel away from him before grabbing onto it with his right and pulling him closer, delivering kick after kick to the Dopant's midsection from his right, causing his body to become encrusted with ice as well.

After delivering the final kick, Arata threw Bullet's arm upwards before lunging forward and launching a hard front jab to his chest with his right, his arm swirling with a mini blizzard. Bullet flew back and crashed into Water, confusing and disorienting the both of them. Using this opportunity, Arata flicked his cloak away from him before removing his Memory from his Driver. He slotted it in to a compartment at the side of his belt.

FREEZE: MAXIMUM DRIVE!

Arata flicked his arms out to his sides as a blizzard swept through the area again. His eyes glowed briefly before his body dispersed into a cloud of snow, swirling around with the blizzard. The Dopants staggered around in confusion, unable to move from their spot as their bodies began to freeze over. Soon enough, the two of them became blocks of ice, trapping them where they stood. Arata re-formed high above them, and he thrust his right leg forward as the winds propelled him forward.

"Frozen BREAKER!" He slapped the pad on the compartment of his belt, prompting a confirming sound from his Memory. His velocity picked up, and his leg began to glow brightly. "HAAAAAAA!" His foot connected with the Dopants, and they shattered into a million pieces, making their bodies combust and explode into a bright neon cloud. Arata landed a few meters away from them, his cloak wrapping around his knelt form as he stood back up. He turned around in time to see their original bodies collapse to the ground unconscious. Soon afterwards, their Memories followed, clattering to the ground uselessly. Arata's head tilted after a moment, noticing that they weren't destroyed as well.

_I guess I'm not that strong yet, _he thought to himself, panting slightly and filling his lungs with chilled air again, _This was my first time after all so…wait a minute… _He stepped closer and knelt down. He picked up one of the Memories, inspecting it carefully. He caught his breath, realizing that these Memories lacked the ribbed design of normal Dopant Memories. He clenched the Memory tightly, but even his newfound strength could not break it. He chuffed in disgust, picking up the other Memory and looking at the two unconscious males. Suddenly, he heard the copter from before fly overhead, which was soon followed by the sounds of footsteps. _Must be Amnesia. _He looked down at the bodies again, shrugging. _Well, might as well give em what they want._

* * *

><p>"CLOSING IN ON AREA. PREPARE TO MOVE IN." Amnesia troopers, more bountiful in number, carefully advanced towards the alleyway, guns all up in preparation. The copter's camera kept an eye on the area, zooming in from a safe distance. "WAIT FOR THE SIGNAL… DO NOT ADVANCE UNTIL—" The voice over the intercom stopped as Arata stepped out into view, holding the two knocked out males in either hand. The Amnesia troopers looked to each other in confusion, unsure of what action to take. Arata tossed them onto the ground, followed by their Memories. However, as soon as he did so, his Driver came into view of the troopers, making them raise their guns up again.<p>

"Sir!" their commander yelled out, "How do you have that in your possession?!" Arata stepped back once, suddenly intimidated by the group. He raised his hands up instinctively, backing away slowly. The troops began to close in. "Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to undo your transformation, and come with us quietly!" Arata growled under his breath.

_Dammit, not now! Erika still needs help! _He continued to back up, and they continued to close in. Arata glanced up at the copter, realizing that he was on camera. He clicked his tongue. _Tch, guess I gotta do this… _His hand quickly went to his side, sliding his Memory out, then immediately back in.

FREEZE: MAXIMUM DRIVE!

"FIRE!" the commander yelled out, causing all of the troopers to pull their triggers. Their reactions proved to be too late, as Arata's body once again dispersed into a cloud of snow that was swept up by a strong wind, flowing away from the troopers and back towards Erika's hideout. The commander let out a sigh of frustration, placing his finger on the pad at the side of his head. "This is 12 reporting to base," he spoke as his troopers closed in on the unconscious bodies, taking their Memories and cuffing them, "Possible downed Dopants, but an unknown threat has come about. He has our equipment… Repeat, he has our equipment… Over and out."


	3. CH 2 - The Edge in a Name

Kamen Rider Zero

CH 2: The _E__dge_ in a Name

_Brenda Illwood is at the center of the screen. The lab straightens out her papers as her segment continues. "Citizens are advised to remain wary," she goes on, "due to the fact that one of the Dopants from the attack of two days ago is indeed still on the loose. Amnesia is asking that if you see any suspicious characters, that you report them as soon as you can." _

Stopwatch looked to her brother, placing a paw on his shoulder as he sat next to her on the couch. "Brother…are you not concerned about this?" He smirked, his eyes remaining on the screen in front of them.

"About what exactly?" Stopwatch clicked her tongue in irritation, rolling her eyes.

"About the fact that you lost TWO Memories?" Crosshair chuffed. "Memories that took TIME and MONEY to make?"

"Not exactly," he replied simply, still keeping his eyes on the screen. Stopwatch growled, gripping his shoulder tighter and making him wince.

"Daiki!" she growled, glaring at him intensely, "Look. At. Me. When I'm TALKING to you." Finally unable to ignore her, Daiki turned to face her, a sly smile still across his muzzle.

"Back to using our first names then, huh? Daiki replied, still wincing from her strong grip on his shoulder. "Whatever happened to our code names?"

"I'm sick of them," she snapped, "they were stupid. Unnecessarily so."

"Well, there _was _a need for—ACK!"

"Do NOT talk back to your older sister," she cut him off, narrowing her eyes at him as she tightened her grip further.

"Okay, okay, sorry." After a few seconds of glaring, Stopwatch finally let his shoulder go. He sat up slightly as he massaged his shoulder in his paw to ease the pain brought about.

"Explain yourself, Daiki," Stopwatch commanded, "the loss of two Memories is something NOT to be taken lightly."

"Fine, fine," he replied, waving a paw dismissively, "the Memories we—"

"_YOU _lost," she corrected him.

"…Right…_I _lost," Daiki continued, "were but mere prototypes. I was _literally _told to do whatever I wish with them. The only thing they asked of me is to test them out. So in all truth, we didn't lose much."

"If by not much, you mean two still fully functional Memories, then yes." Daiki rolled his eyes.

"Calm. Down." he replied, earning a glare from his sister, "They weren't very strong Memories in the first place. They're just durable. That is literally it. If anyone tries to use them against us or something like that, then we can easily take them out." The female sighed, slumping in her seat.

"Fine," she replied, "then what about that…masked individual?" Hearing this, Daiki's smile broadened.

"He interests me," he answered her, "very much so actually."

Stopwatch furrowed a brow. "Will we…do anything about him?"

Daiki returned his attention to the screen. "Let's see what he can do first…"

* * *

><p>"<em>In other related news," Brenda went on, "there is much debate over the mysterious man that appeared during the attack." An image of a man in a full body suit appeared on the screen. "Some claim that he is simply another Dopant. However, by looking at this image, we can clearly see that this man has what appears to be equipment similar to that of Amnesia. They have declined to comment about this." The image faded away, leaving Brenda on the screen once again. "Citizens are still conflicted about what to think of him. Some claim that he is a hero. However, there are others suggesting that he is dangerous, and should be stopped." <em>

_The screen clipped to footage of various interviews with different people. "I don't know," one of them said, "he just…seems pretty sketchy. All he did was show up, and he disappeared." _

"_Yeah, I know those other guys looked beat up," said another, "but all we saw was the two of them knocked out, and two random Memories. Those guys could've been decoys. Hell, they could've been two random people that _he _knocked out. The fact that he ran away just makes me suspicious." _

Arata's ears flattened against his head as he listened to the people's words. "That's…really what they think of me?" He felt a paw suddenly grasp his. He turned to see Erika's eyes upon him.

"Hey, it's alright," she assured him, "you did what you had to do. It's not like you were doing it for the approval anyways." Arata shrugged, shifting slightly on the hospital bed. "Let's just change the channel, huh? Slide the remote over for me please." Nodding obediently, he leaned over to grab the remote from the far side of the bed and handed it to her. With it in hand, she clicked a button and changed the channel to something a bit more pleasant.

The two of them were in her private hospital room, one Erika didn't care to share how she managed to get. The snow leopard claimed that she didn't want everyone learning her trick, as it would lose its effect from so many people doing it. Arata dismissed the matter; he didn't enjoy being in a hospital in general. Regardless, they were granted privacy, privacy they very much needed today.

"I don't need to remind you how important it is for you to keep all of this a secret, do I?" said Erika, "I'm assuming you already know."

"I know, I know," Arata nodded, "I don't exactly feel like sharing this anyways, considering the fact that most people seem to be at my necks now."

"Well, not the _you _you, more of the on-screen you." Arata simply shrugged, and Erika shook her head. "Whatever, as long as you get it. Also, one other thing." The panther-morph turned back to her. "Make sure no one gets to that Garden, alright?" She looked down at herself, adjusting her hospital robe slightly, "I'm not exactly in the condition to be watching over it, and that third guy's still on the loose. I _really _need you to protect it, alright?"

"Got it," he nodded, "but…what if someone's in trouble?" Erika gave him a very serious look.

"Arata, you don't need to be risking yourself outside of this," she told him, "just let Amnesia do their job."

"But…you saw what those guys were capable of…" Arata replied, "Amnesia couldn't even handle them. This…Earth's Tree group is making Memories stronger than ever." He clasped her paw in his gently, looking into her eyes intensely. "Erika, you told me that you would find a way to stop Dopants once and for all. Now you have. So please…let me fight. Let me fight for you."

"No," Erika shook her head firmly, "Arata, I never intended for you to be fighting them in the first place. I don't want you getting unnecessarily hurt just because I couldn't do it at the time. Please Arata; just let Amnesia figure things out. Everyone's gone through drills, and everyone knows how to stay safe. So…please…" The panther closed his eyes, taking in a slow breath.

"…Erika," he continued, "I can't just…sit there, knowing I can stop those things." He opened his eyes, looking to the snow leopard once more. "You already know that I want to bring an end to Dopants as much as you do. I can help you now; you just need to let me. The two of us can be a team, ya know?" He gripped her paw a little tighter, "And…if you're still against the idea, at the very least allow me to act as your substitute until you get better?" Erika stared at him for a while, before letting out a long sigh.

"Well, I can't exactly stop you anyways," she placed her other paw on his, "Just…promise me you won't do anything stupid, alright?" Arata nodded, smiling warmly at her. "Okay then…until I get better…you can borrow my stuff." She smiled back at him, squeezing his wrist lightly. "Don't break it alright? The damn thing was hard enough to make as it is."

Arata chuckled, "Don't worry; I'll take good care of it until you can take it back." The two of them leaned in, hugging each other tightly. "Thanks for caring about me Erika."

"Thank you for not dying," she said jokingly, separating their hug, "That would've defeated the whole purpose of saving me." The two of them laughed. "But…seriously Arata, thank you. I promise I'll make it up to you one day." Suddenly, a green light flashed atop the doorframe of her room. The two of them turned towards it as it emitted a low buzzing sound. "Oh, another check up's soon." She turned back to Arata. "I'll see ya around, kay?"

"See ya," he nodded to her as he stood up before making his way to the door. Giving her one last wave, he left her room and exited the hospital. He quickly made his way through the parking space and walked up to his motor bike. He grabbed up his helmet and slipped it on, revving the engine of his cycle as he mounted it.

_Just hang in there Erika, _he thought to himself, snapping up the stand and backing out of the parking space, _I'll stop them, don't you worry. _At that, he revved up his bike and drove off.

* * *

><p>"So we <em>finally <em>get to meet again," Daiki exclaimed as he and his sister walked up to a male cheetah-morph. He took his paw without so much as asking, shaking it firmly in both paws. "So then, what happened that day anyways? You weren't the one fighting the one with the cape, correct?"

"I wasn't," he answered the canine, withdrawing his paw once he had finally released it, "However, once I heard that the others had been defeated, I decided it best to make a strategic retreat."

"AHHhh, I see now," Daiki replied, tossing his arms up in the air in an almost carefree manner, "Compl_etely _understandable. All is forgiven."

His sister shook her head, clearly un-amused by this. "Such a naïve little child…"

"Of course," Daiki continued, flicking an ear at his sister's remark, "no action is truly forgiven…without proper reconciliation." He clapped his paws together, smiling broadly. "SO, I need to ask for a little _favor _from you Mr. Edge." His sister chuffed at hearing him use his codenames again, but continued to listen regardless.

"What exactly does this favor entail, might I ask?" Edge asked, raising a brow at this.

"Well you see," Daiki went on, "I've taken up a sudden _interest _of a certain individual that managed to defeat what _should _have been undefeatable Dopants," he paced around the area as he went on, making various motions and gestures with his paws. "Now, no doubt this is simply a fluke, and those Memories must have been _glitched _or something, but it's always smart to make sure…" He stopped his pacing to turn back to the cheetah-morph. "It's clear that Mr. Cape man has something to do with the Garden I had the other two look for, _so, _I'd like for you to investigate that area in their stead."

Edge drew back in a double take, concerned about this new "favor." "You can't expect me to go out there alone, not with _that _man running around. Regardless if they were glitched Memories or not, that man was able to take down _two _Dopants at once."

"Now, now, we don't know that for sure," Daiki countered, waving his paws about, "Besides, I can assure you that _your _Memory is perfectly functional. You should have no problems dealing with this caped crusader at all." Edge growled, folding his arms across his chest and flicking his tail in agitation. Daiki sighed. "Fine, if you _really _don't want to go alone, then I shall act as your safety button." His sister turned to him, taken aback by his statement. "I shall be watching from the sidelines, and will jump in to help in the off chance that you _do _require assistance."

Edge continued to give him a look of unease, his ears flattening against his head. "What exactly will you be using to defend yourself against _him_? Do you have a Memory of your own?" Daiki smiled slyly.

"You _could _say that," he remarked, "Just know that I have my own means of…" he chuckled, "defense."

* * *

><p>"Aaaaaaaannnd…done," Arata sighed in relief as he slid one last piece of scrap metal over the entrance to their hideout. He flicked his ears in satisfaction, admiring his handiwork. "Good thing there's a good amount of scrap around the area…" He dusted his paws off before turning to walk the other way. <em>Hopefully that'll be enough to hide it, or at least make it more difficult to find… <em>Shaking the thought away, the panther-morph instead focused on finding his way back to the shop. Thankfully, it wasn't so much of an ordeal as it had been to find his way back to the area in the first place. Within a few minutes, Arata was back at the shop, where Vince and Dave had apparently been waiting at.

"Hey Arata," Vince greeted, "so how's Erika been?"

"She's doing better," Arata explained as he waved to the two of them, "Since we got help soon after lock down ended, she's on the road to a promising recovery."

"Good to hear man," Dave replied, leaning against the wall of the shop, "so ya gonna open up or not?" Arata chuffed at his forwardness.

"I got it, I got it…" He walked up to the front door, placing his finger on the door's panel, "….ah jeez…."

* * *

><p>As Edge walked down the dark hallways, he spied a dark figure with a suitcase, leaning against the wall ahead of him. The figure turned, and the cheetah quickly identified him as Crosshair. The two of them nodded to each other as he approached him.<p>

"Well then," Crosshair began, "shall we get started?"

"Fine," Edge replied simply, slipping his Memory from out of his pocket. Pulling down his sleeve, Edge clicked the button at the front of the Memory.

EDGE!

He stabbed it into his arm, and it snaked its way inside. His body began to glow as it shifted and changed into a new shape. After a few seconds, the cheetah from before had completely transformed into the metalized Dopant from before. Edge looked to Crosshair in confusion. "Well? You plan on changing too, correct?"

"Oh I will," he confirmed him, "just…not now. You go on ahead; I'll catch up to you at one point or another." Edge narrowed his eyes at him. However, in no position to argue, the Dopant reluctantly made his leave, keeping his eyes on the canine as he left. Once he was gone, Daiki chuckled in amusement.

"Aaaaahhh, it's good to be the boss around here," he sighed happily before placing his suitcase on the ground and opening it up. He reached inside to pull out a familiar device. "Well, time to get dressed for work." He slapped the device on to his midsection, causing a belt to snake around his form. He then reached into the suitcase again, pulling out a light blue Memory. He clicked the button at the front.

TRIGGER!

He plugged it into his Lost Driver, causing a standby noise to emit from it. He ran his paw over his head before flicking the Driver into a slanted position.

TRIGGER!

A sudden wind swept up around him as his body as it too began to shift and change. He smiled broadly as armor began to encase his head, and his muzzle began to shrink away. As the wind faded away, and his body completed its transformation, Daiki's enlarged eyes glowed bright red amidst the darkness. He reached down to his thighs to draw out twin pistols from their holsters. "Now…time to go hunting…"

* * *

><p>"Thirty minutes though?"<p>

"Shut up."

"Erika showed you how to open it up already, right?"

"Shut UP."

"Like, is that even _possible_?"

"I get it. I got it ten minutes ago."

"Got what? I don't think you get it cuz' it took _thirty _minutes."

"Really guys? Y-you're just gonna keep goin at this, huh?"

"I mean, fifteen would make sense, but _thirty_?"

"You know he actually _does _have a point. _Thirty minutes_? That _should _have been in half, _even _if Erika showed you, which she _did_."

"Glad to know that this is what our friendship has become guys." Arata sighed jokingly as he continued to type in several commands into the computer. He glanced up from the screen to check on how their game was going. Dave had brought his gaming system and hooked it up to the store's big screen, a habit the group had gotten used to.

"It's coming up. Dodge roll," Dave informed Vince as the virtual Minotaur began to breathe fire at their characters. Vince leaned in the direction his character rolled in as they avoided the attack. Arata smiled at seeing this and returned to his work.

"Hey guys," he spoke up, "just remember to scoot back up if any custom—" He was cut off as a loud siren sounded out. The other two males jumped in their seats as they looked around in confusion. Arata rushed to the door and opened it up, hearing the siren sound out throughout the city.

"Another lockdown?!" Dave exclaimed, "We just had one two days ago, didn't we?!"

"Is this seriously another attack?!" Vince said in confusion as they shut off the game system.

"I dunno, do you hear the ALARMS?!" Dave retorted, "Then it's an ATTACK!"

Arata growled slightly as he shut off the lights. _It must be the one that ran away last time. Which means… _He realized just what was going on, and what the Dopant was after. He hurried over to his desk and grabbed up his jacket. "Hey! You two know how to lock up, right?" Vince and Dave looked to him in absolute confusion.

"Why? What's going on?"

"Lock up! I gotta go!" Before either of them could react, Arata rushed out the door and hopped on his bike. He revved it up as he slipped his helmet on. Soon enough, Dave's head poked out the door.

"Are you insane?!" he shouted at him, "What the hell do you think you're doing?!"

"STAY INSIDE, AND LOCK UP!" Arata commanded, pointing at him, "Do NOT leave until lockdown is over!" At that, the panther-morph drove off and away from the shop, turning the nearest corner. Once he felt he was far enough, he slipped his Lost Driver out of his jacket and slapped it onto his mid-section, causing a belt to snake around him. Switching to his right hand, he pulled his Memory out of his pocket and clicked the button at the front.

FREEZE!

He slotted it into his Driver and shifted it to a slanted position, causing a sudden blizzard to swirl around him. Once again, he felt an icy feeling chill his body as it began to reshape itself. He shielded himself with his right as he felt his cloak envelop him once more. His eyes glowed before he whipped his cloak away, causing it to flutter in the wind as he sped forward on his motor bike. Looking down, he realized that his bike had changed forms as well, taking on a much sharper design, as well as being whiter in appearance.

_Huh, nice little perk, _he thought to himself, looking forward once again and revving his engine even more, _but let's see if it can speed me up! _He revved it yet again, causing an almost futuristic hum to sound from his engine. He leaned into his bike as it sped off at an even faster rate, shooting forward in the direction of the copter up ahead. "Alright! LET'S GO!"

* * *

><p>"That damned Crosshair," Edge muttered under his breath, "who the hell does he think he is?" He stopped in his tracks as an Amnesia squad cut him off the path he was walking.<p>

"Fire at will!" their leader shouted out, prompting the other members to let loose a barrage of bullets. Edge sighed as the bullets bounced harmlessly off of his body. Not in the mood to deal with them, he thrust out his arm before slashing out at the squad, launching an energy slash their way. The slash connected with the troopers, causing sparks to fly from their bodies, and forcing them to fall back. Edge sighed in boredom as they scrambled back to their feet, turning to the side and walking in the other direction. Suddenly, he stopped. He turned his head to the left as he tried to listen for a sound.

The roar of a motorcycle engine.

He twirled around to see a man clad in white armor speeding toward him at an alarming rate. Spying his cape, Edge quickly identified him as the masked individual from before. _So this is the one, _he thought to himself, crossing his arm across his chest, _well then, time for a proper introduction! _He slashed his arm out, sending a slash of energy towards the rider. Acting fast, Arata grabbed his Memory out of his Driver and slotted it into the slot at his side.

FREEZE: MAXIMUM DRIVE!

The attack connected, but instead of knocking Arata off of his bike, both him _and _his bike dispersed into a cloud of snow. The cloud shot towards Edge at the same speed he had been going prior to the attack. As Edge's attack cut into the concrete and created a crevice, the cloud clustered to form Arata's body and bike once again, and he quickly clutched his break, turning his bike suddenly to drift towards the metal Dopant at high speeds. The bike slammed into Edge with a powerful force and sent him flying back. Arata wheeled his bike around again, stopping his momentum as his bike screeched to a halt to fling him off. He spun once before landing on his feet, causing his cloak to curl around him from the momentum. He whipped it away from his body and turned towards Edge as he got back up.

"So _you're _the guy then, huh?" Edge said to him, pointing a blade at him, "The one I need to take care of?" Arata growled.

"I suggest you turn yourself in now," he shouted back, "I'd rather not be forced to take action." Edge laughed.

"Is _that _what you have to say to me?" he asked in amusement, "I would have thought that a rogue such as yourself would have some sort of witty remark or something!" Arata turned his head slightly, scratching his head with a finger.

"W-well, it's not like I prepare things like that!" he retorted, "I don't have a catch phrase or anything!" Edge chuffed, scraping his blades against each other.

"So you're just a child then." He slashed his arm out, cutting into the concrete in front of him. "This shall be easy pickings." Arata growled loudly, clenching his fists.

"Fine, if you're so insistent on getting a beating, then COME AT ME!" The two of them charged at each other at full speed. Once they met, Edge swung down at his head. Crossing his arms over each other, Arata caught the blade between his forearms, protected by his gauntlets. With the both of them locked into place, they pushed against each other, glaring at each other as they tried to over power the other. Shoving Edge off, Arata ran off to the side, with Edge running after him in pursuit.

"Follow them!" the captain of the troopers shouted out, "Don't let them out of your sights!" Nodding their armored heads, the troopers ran after them and followed them out of the area.

Soon the two of them made it to a more open area, one with a few less buildings to take up space. Arata rolled away before turning to face the Dopant once more, who led with a lunge at his chest. Swinging his right arm to the side, Arata quickly parried the attack. But Edge did not let up, following up with a swing from his left. Unable to counter, Arata cried out as his blade slashed across his chest, staggering him back and sending sparks everywhere. Edge continued his attack, circling both of his arms around to deliver a heavy swing to his left. The attack connected, and Arata stumbled before falling backwards several feet away from the Dopant.

"Damn, that body of yours is really sturdy," he commented, slowly stalking towards the downed panther, "but I still fail to see how that helped you defeat my comrades." Arata grimaced as he struggled to rise, barely managing to get to his feet before Edge closed the space between them. Taking advantage of this opening, he slashed out at Arata, crisscrossing his arms as he slashed at his torso again and again. As Arata fell to his knees, Edge held a blade to his neck. "Now that you're here, it is time you answered my question," he hissed at him, pressing the blade into him more, "Where is that Garden of yours, hmmm?" Arata looked into his eyes, glaring at him.

"Sorry, but I don't do gardening." Edge growled before slashing his blade across his neck, not managing to cut into him but still hurting him none-the-less. Circling his arm around, Edge swung down at him from his right towards his left. Acting quickly, Arata crossed his arms again to catch the blade between his forearms. However, the Dopant's strength won out, and he shoved the blade down, causing it to catch up against Arata's shoulder guard. Arata took hold of it in his hands as Edge pushed down on him.

"Do NOT be smart with me," Edge growled, "Where is the Garden? Hurry up before I find a way to break that body of yours."

Arata gripped his blade tightly, glaring at Edge with his bright green eyes. "I…nrgh…don't know what you're talking about." Clicking his tongue in annoyance, Edge drove his blade downwards, slashing Arata across his chest and prompting a cry of pain from him. Turning his wrist, Edge followed up with an upwards slash, causing Arata to stumble back to his feet. The Dopant drew his arm back before lunging forward, delivering a powerful stab to Arata's chest. The armored panther cried out as he was sent flying back, slamming into the door a nearby building. However, the force of the impact was enough to make the door collapse, and Arata ended up crashing through, despite the metal guards braced against it.

A child shrieked out as Arata hit the floor, scrambling into the arms of his parents. As Arata got to his feet, he looked up to see the small family bunched up against the wall in front of him, seemingly to have no where else to go. Arata whipped his head back towards the Dopant, catching sight of him crossing his arm across his chest. He snapped his attention back towards the family. _Crap! _Edge whipped his arm out, sending a slash of energy towards them.

"LOOK OUT!" Arata shouted out as he scrambled back to his feet, spreading his arms out to shield the family as the attack struck his back, prompting a cry of pain from him. He felt his knees give in on him as he collapsed to his knees, his arms falling to his sides and his head hanging limply. Unfortunately, he was not granted a chance to rest, as he felt a heavy slash against his back. Another slash and Edge's blades were between Arata's neck and shoulder, with Edge continuing to drive it in despite not being able to cut into him. Arata took hold of the blades in his hands, gripping them tightly and ignoring the pain that it brought to his hands.

"I'm growing tired of asking again and again," Edge growled, forcing his blades down harder on him, "Where. Is. The Garden." Arata cried out as he pushed down harder against his neck, leaning his head towards the blade to try and ease the pain. Just then, the air was filled with the sound of wailing. Arata looked up, realizing the kid was crying. Continuing to struggle against Edge's blades, he looked on to the child as he pressed himself into his parents, eyes flooded with tears and his face twisted in absolute terror.

_That's…just like… _Arata couldn't help but stare as he watched the family. He came to a realization that the kid reminded him of someone else. Someone he knew very well.

Himself.

The way he clung on to his mother, the way he was trying to seek some sort of comfort among the chaos, the way he refused to open his eyes until it was over, it all mirrored how Arata was as a child at the time Day Zero occurred. He knew exactly what the child was going through. He knew how he felt. He knew the fright and confusion that was going through his head. He knew the feeling of impending doom and overwhelming despair that was drowning him. He knew…all too well.

"I'm waiting," Edge spoke up again, and making Arata break his gaze from the family to him, "and I don't like waiting. Tell me where it is or I'll—"

"CAN IT!" Arata growled loudly, squeezing down harder on the Dopant's blades. He turned his head back to the family, looking intently at the child. "Hey…hey kid!" The child ceased his sobbing abruptly, snapping his head up in attention and looking to him with teary, bloodshot eyes. "S…stop crying, would ya?" he said to him, continuing to struggle against the Dopant's strength, "Didn't you know? It's my superhero weakness." The child slowly wiped his eyes, still fear stricken and confused as he watched the two of them. "Heh, atta boy," Arata said, grunting as Edge pushed down on him again, "Now…I'm gonna need you to do something for me, alright?" He cried out again as Edge pushed down on him even harder, causing the child to withdraw back into his parents slightly. Arata looked back into the child's eyes again, gripping the Dopant's blades tightly. "I—urgh! …I need you to feel brave for me… Got it?" The child looked back at him, fear beginning to melt away from his features as he listened to him. "I need you to feel…as BRAVE as you can be… If you do that…it will make me feel stronger. It will make us BOTH feel stronger." Arata tensed his legs as he pushed back against the Dopant, struggling to rise. "What do ya say…do you think you can help me out?"

The kid looked around, conflicted with what to do. He clung on to his parents tighter, shuffling around on his heels and rubbing his head against his mother's shoulder. He clenched his eyes for a moment, before breaking out of the cocoon of his parents and standing up, causing them to break up and turn to their child in shock. The child stood up and took two steps toward the two struggling males.

"You can do it mister!" the kid shouted, looking into Arata's eyes, "You can beat the bad guy!" If Arata still had his mouth, it would be smiling widely at this point.

"How touching," Edge taunted, "but I'm afraid that won't do you any good against me." He forced his blade down again, pushing Arata down once more. Breathing heavily, Arata let out a laugh.

"Is that so?" he asked, tensing his legs again, "Don't…be…So…SURE! RrrrrrrrrrrrrrrraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!" With newfound determination, Arata mustered up all the strength he could as he pushed against the blade, slowly rising up back to his feet. Now standing once again, Arata let go of the blade with his right to elbow Edge in the gut. Once he felt Edge's press lighten, Arata drew his left leg back before delivering a back kick to his gut, staggering him back several steps. With his blade finally off of his shoulder, Arata turned on his heels and jumped up, delivering a spin kick straight to Edge's head and hitting him hard enough to knock him out of the house and send him sprawling onto the ground outside. Arata panted heavily, turning back towards the kid who was still standing where he was, with his parents fretting over him and scolding him. He chuckled and approached the family. He knelt down to the kid's height, offering him his fist.

"Good job," he said to him, his parents turning to him and watching him carefully, "I couldn't have done that without your help." The kid glanced back and forth between him and his fist before finally bumping his own against it.

"Mister," said the kid, "who are you?" Arata was caught off guard, not knowing what to say. He looked off a bit to the side as he thought of his answer, before nodding and returning his gaze to him.

"Zero," he finally answered, "My name is Zero." The kid smiled brightly, and he nodded to him. Nodding back, Arata stood back up and looked to his parents.

"You guys head to a safer place," he instructed them, "I'll make sure that creep over there doesn't get to you guys ever again."

"Thank you," the mother said gratefully before turning back to her husband. The family quickly scrambled to their feet as they rushed deeper inside the house.

"Go get him Zero!" the kid shouted out, "Save the world!" At that, the family disappeared from sight. Arata chuckled slightly, turning away to face his opponent once again.

_I will kid, _he thought to himself, _count on it. _With his fighting spirit ignited once again, he charged forward towards Edge at full speed. As the metal Dopant staggered back to his feet, Arata jumped up and kicked his foot out at him. Acting fast, Edge jumped off to the side and avoided the attack, both of them taking defensive stances after landing. They locked gazes as they circled each other, each waiting for the other to take the first move. When none of them did, Edge decided to take the lead, lunging forward and slashing with his left down to the right. Arata shot his right arm up to block the attack before following up with an icy punch from his left. As he was hit, Edge spun around with the punch to twirl and slash at him horizontally to the right.

"Gah!" Arata cried out as his torso was slashed. Edge followed through with the swing and made a downwards swing to the left, his blade impacting Arata's left shoulder and forcing him back down to his knees. Edge followed through again and made another downward slash to the right. This time, he swung so that his blade was caught between Arata's shoulder and neck again, locking them in a similar position as not too long ago. Arata grimaced as he tried to force his blades through him again. Suddenly, Edge swung out with his other arm, catching his other blade in the same area his first one was. Arata cried out as the blade collided with him, grimacing as he took hold of both of the blades in his hands.

"This is your LAST chance," Edge threatened him, pushing down hard with both blades, "You're going to tell me everything you know, otherwise I'm going to slice you in HALF!" He shoved his blades down again, prompting another cry of pain from Arata. He growled, glaring back at the Dopant.

"Fine," he growled, clenching his hands around the blades, "I'll let you in on a secret." Edge's blades did not leave his shoulder, instead continuing to weigh down on him. He stared down at the armored panther-morph as he waited for him to continue. "My Memory is Freeze, which grants me the ability to lower the temperature of the area around me." Arata tightened his grip on the blades even further, his eyes not leaving Edge's in the slightest. "And there's an interesting thing I learned about metals in one of my science classes…" Edge suddenly noticed that his blades were beginning to become frosted around where Arata's hands were. He tried to pull away, but Arata's grip held firm. "As it turns out, under extreme cold, even the hardest of metals can become brittle…" Edge struggled more, but his blades continued to freeze over. "And that makes it easier…to BREAK!"

Arata leg go with his right before swinging his free arm at the frozen blades, both of them shattering into pieces upon impact. Edge staggered, backing away as he was left defenseless. Standing up, Arata tossed the blades aside before turning on his heels and delivering a strong icy roundhouse kick to the Dopant's head. Edge stumbled as his head was met with a blunt force, a thin sheet of ice covering the side he had been hit. Following through with the kick, Arata backspin-kicked him in with his left, the attack once again landing on Edge's head. The Dopant was blown back, rolling to the ground several feet away. He scrambled back to his feet, his head darting left and right.

_Where the hell is he?! _he thought to himself, looking for any sign of Crosshair, _He said he would be here! _

"HA!" Charging forward, Arata delivered a straight punch with his right, hitting Edge hard in the gut and sending him flying back. The metal Dopant landed hard on the ground with a thud, his entire body now covered in a thin sheet of ice. Standing straight, Arata whipped his cloak aside before pulling his Memory out from his Driver. "Time to finish this up." He flicked his wrist, slotting the Memory into his side and prompting a confirming sound from the device.

FREEZE: MAXIMUM DRIVE!

Flicking his arms out to either side of him, Arata's body dispersed into a raging blizzard, swirling around Edge as he quickly began to freeze over. "Damn you…Crosshair," Edge hissed before his entire body froze up, practically becoming a block of ice. The blizzard eased up before Arata's body re-solidified. He curled up as he prepared himself for a jump kick.

"Frozen BREAKER!" He slapped the pad at his side and kicked his leg out, shooting forward as his leg began to glow, "HAAAAAAAA!" Arata crashed through the Dopant, reducing him to nothing but shards of ice as his form was replaced with that of his normal self, falling to the ground unconscious and Memory shooting out of his body. Arata landed only a few feet away, slowly rising as his cloak fluttered around in the wind. Standing straight, he turned to look at the former Dopant, now but another normal citizen of Jinsoku. Looking next to him, he confirmed that yes, this Memory had not been destroyed either. He put his hand to his chin thoughtfully. _It's…definitely because I'm not that strong yet…right? _Suddenly, he caught movement out of the corner of his eye. He turned to look, and saw that Amnesia members had begun to flood the area, coming out of their hiding spots and surrounding the two of them. As they did, they began to aim their guns at him, none of them showing any signs of friendliness or trust towards him. The panther growled. _Looks like I don't have time to think this over… _

"Hands up!" their commander shouted out, clutching his gun in both hands, "Hand over the equipment and come with us quietly for questioning!" Moving slowly, Arata raised both of his hands over his head, not wanting to aggravate the commander. Looking off to the side, Arata realized that they had his motorcycle in their possession.

At least…for now.

Arata kept his eyes focused on the vehicle, feeling its connection to him in his mind. "DROP YOUR DRIVER NOW!" The commander demanded, firing a warning shot at Arata's feet. He did not move, continuing to keep his focus on his cycle. Seeing that he would not comply, he signaled for several other troops to move in. As they slowly closed in, Arata's bike suddenly burst into a cloud of snow that shot through the troops, stunning them and confusing them. Arata turned and ran in the other direction, jumping up as the cloud swept underneath him before reshaping itself back into his motorcycle, shooting through and scattering several of the Amnesia troops.

"After him!" their commander shouted out, prompting his fellow troops to run after Arata as their copter flew off in pursuit while the others got to work on Edge, cuffing him and taking him in. However, unbeknownst to them, a pair of glowing red eyes shined out from the darkness of a nearby alleyway. The one the eyes belonged to holstered his twin pistols, leaning against the walls.

_Not too bad mister cape man, _the figure thought to himself, _I look forward to seeing more out of you… _At that, the figure moved away from the area, humming cheerily to himself and strolling along.

* * *

><p>"…<em>And yet another attack on Jinsoku City," Brenda went on, "and the reappearance of a Dopant from the attack from not too long ago…" <em>

"Honestly though, Arata," Erika criticized the panther, talking over the TV, "that was _way _too reckless of you! I don't need to explain what could have happened to you. You're lucky you escaped with just a couple of bruises."

Arata's ears were flat against his head. "I know…but I couldn't just let those people get hurt out there. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I allowed what happened to me happen to someone else." The snow leopard let out an irritated sigh, folding her arms across her chest.

"Well…I suppose I can't fault you for that…" she sighed, looking away from him defiantly, "but…that doesn't make me any less mad."

"I know…" he apologized sheepishly. She let out another sigh.

"So…how did you explain yourself to Vince and Dave anyway?" she asked curiously, flicking her eyes towards him.

"I just sort of told them that I got beat up after intruding on someone else's hiding spot." Erika snickered, her serious demeanor wavering before ultimately collapsing.

"Well, that's one way to explain it," she giggled, "though I'm surprised they actually fell for that. But then again, you've never been the type to lie to anyone, especially with us." She looked him in the eyes. "Right?"

The panther chuckled. "Right." Erika nodded in satisfaction, returning her attention to the screen. Arata looked off to the side, swishing his tail on the side of the bed. "…Erika?"

"What's up?" she asked without turning to him. Arata paused, unsure on whether or not to continue.

"…Listen… About…what we discussed…earlier today…" Erika frowned, returning her attention to him. Arata's eyes remained off to the side, his tail flicking around nervously. "I know…I know I said…that once you recovered…that I would return the gear to you…but…" he turned to face her, a serious expression across his features, "I think I've changed my mind."

Erika didn't respond for a moment. "…Why…why is that?"

Arata sighed, looking down at his lap. "Back there…when I saved that family…I came to a complete realization of who exactly I was protecting…" He returned his gaze to her, "Knowing what you're protecting is one thing, but actually seeing them is another. I personally saw how scared and helpless those people were. It was the same fear that you and I experienced on Day Zero. After seeing that, I…I just can't stand the thought of standing by and doing nothing to change that. I…I hope you understand…what I'm trying to say…" Erika closed her eyes, letting out a long, slow breath.

"I do," she replied, "and honestly, after seeing what happened there, I'm not surprised you feel that way either. I'd probably be pretty fired up as well…" She opened her eyes, looking to him and smiling. "Okay, if this is your decision, then it's not my place to deny you from protecting others."

Arata smiled back. "Thank you."

"But don't think I'm just gonna sit back either," she snapped, pointing a finger at him, "One way or another, I'm gonna find a way to fight along side you. Just you wait."

The panther nodded. "I look forward to it."

"…_And he told me to be brave," a young boy accompanied by his parents spoke into the microphone, "cuz it makes him stronger and helps him fight the bad guys." _

Arata looked up at the screen, recognizing the voice. "Hey, that's the family right now." Erika looked up at the screen as well.

"_And you were brave," the reporter commented, "We all saw you stand up to him." _

"_Uhuh," the boy replied enthusiastically, "cuz I wanted to be brave for him n' make him stronger." The footage clipped back to Brenda. _

"_According to the boy," she said, "the man claims to go by the name of Zero, which a lot of people on social media seem to find rather fitting. While it seems to reference his ice related abilities, it is also a powerful reminder of Day Zero, the day that he seems to wish for everyone to overcome. With that in mind, the public has given a proper name to this mysterious masked man on a motorcycle. Forever more, this man will be known by the name of Kamen Rider Zero." _

Erika smirked, glancing over to Arata and seeing the brightest of smiles across his muzzle. "So, what do ya think of your new name?"

Arata kept his eyes on the screen. "I'd say…it's pretty cool."

Erika snorted, face-palming in amusement. "Okay, leave the bad puns to me, alright?" Arata turned to her, confused.

"Puns? What do you…oh…"


End file.
